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How soon is too soon to introduce a bottle to a breastfed baby?

My baby will be about 4 weeks old when I have to go back to school and I can't really take the semester off. I wanted to take an online class specifically because I am going to be nursing and don't want to be away from the baby, but unfortunately none of the classes I need are offered online in the fall. I will be gone for about an hour and a half twice a week, but I'm nervous that introducing a bottle that soon will screw up my chances at successfully breastfeeding.

I believe I introduce the bottle at about 2 weeks so that my husband could feed my daughter. I used the wide nipples (Playtex Drop-ins). They are great. I didn't have any problems with nipple confusion. Good luck. Every baby is different.

If you're only gone for an hour and a half I would say just feed him shortly before you leave and as soon as you get home and you should be ok. If nursing is well established you will probably be ok to introduce the bottle now but beware that in can get in the way of your milk supply and his desire to nurse so use it as sparingly as possible. I would really just try to nurse before and after you go to class and avoid the bottle unless you absolutely need it. It would be good for emergencies but try not to get in the habit of giving a bottle everyday. Then you will end up skipping feedings and he may like how easy it is to get milk from the bottle. Also, get the lowest flow nipple you can so it's not easy for him to get a lot of milk.

I started early so that husband could help and he would be the one feeding her when I went back to work. She did very good but didn't like silicon nibbles so had to find latex ones and she liked the ones made from playtex that were shaped like a nipple and I liked the drop ins. So you may have to try a few

I usually say that you can start incorporating a wide-neck bottle to your breast feeding regime. Try Born Free or Dr. Browns. You can get the Born Free breast pump adapter and pump directly into the wide-neck bottles. Even try Nuby...they make a great natural-shape nipple. Good luck!

It's never too soon. My oldest and youngest were given bottles while in the hospital. I nursed my oldest til I had to medically quit at 1 year. My youngest is still exclusive to breastmilk - and rarely has a bottle, but is happy to take them when she gets them. My middle child on the other hand I tried to stick to that "wait 6wks" rule and he completely refused a bottle. Even when I had to leave him for HOURS at a time he would go without eating instead of taking a bottle, and I don't mean 1 or 2 hours either... I mean 8 or 10 - to the point that we had to use a dropper to force him to eat while I was gone because he refused a bottle... Which is why my new baby got a bottle from day one, like my oldest did.

Your baby should be totally perfectly fine! Just keep breastfeeding as much as possible & using a bottle when u are away from him.
BF was tough at the start for me, so even the 1st week she got a few ounces of formula from a bottle.. We did establish great Breastfeeding (20months!)... About 2mo old she got a few bottles on the weekend.

If anything there will be an adjust to accepting the bottle. but im sure everthing will be fine :) Good for you for nursing & getting the school you need! :-)

A lot of people say wait until nursing is well established, however in my expierence with our DD who's now 2 1/2 months had a bottle, (medela brand) pacifier, and nursed all in her first week perfectly for me. Some say it causes nipple confusion, but because we were forced to use a bottle we did. My thought is introduce it early that way they get good practice and effiecient with them all. I know what our DD did is not common, and she's only 2 1/2 months so her preferences could change overnight. GL